Computer modeling of the process of the ocean stream velocity remote acoustics sensing in Fram Strait environmental condition.

Abstract

An important part of the general problem of global climate change is the measurement of the heat inflow from the Atlantic ocean to the Arctic basin. An effective tool to measure it is the acoustic methods application. Some aspects of this problem connected with the average water temperature measurements were considered previously [Naugolnykh et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 97, 3264(A) (1995)]. In the present paper the results of computer modeling of the ocean stream velocity remote acoustical sensing with respect to the Fram Strait environment are presented. The computer simulation of the random environment characterized by the 3‐D sound‐speed field was performed. This process has been done with the assumption of both regular temperature changing in the cross section of the Fram Strait and isotropic random sound‐speed variation distribution in the plane in each horizon. Spatial spectra of simulated inhomogeneities can be corrected in the course of modeling. Simulated fields of environmental inhomogeneities were used for the sound signal propagation modeling through the paths directed crosswise and along the water flow to compare Doppler and scintillation methods of stream monitoring.